Jen Gotch has a fascinating story, and a friendly, relatable voice to tell it. I admire her honestly in writing this book and sharing such deeply personal experiences with the world.

I really wanted to like this one. As a mental health professional I love sharing inspirational reads with students because they can take on a life of their own in the traditional sense of paying it forward and pretty soon a friend of a friend of a friend heard about it and it gets back to me. I thought this book would be one of those but it comes off as another "poor little rich girl" story about a child born into privilege that tries to convince the reader they were not, that they stumbled into something fortunate and privilege played no real role, and now they have this beautiful life. I do appreciate the nod to mental health issues, but this is no rags to riches story and reminds me a lot of Rachel Hollis or Elizabeth Gilbert. I'd recommend something else (Rachel Hollis, Tiffany Jenkins).

Reading and writing about mental health is not an easy task, and Jen makes you feel like you're listening to a friend. Readers will appreciate her candor -- and those also struggling with anxiety and mental health issues will find a refuge in her relatable anecdotes. Helps that she also sounds like your funny bff.

So truthfully, honest and open. Jen’s story will truly speak to you. It is amazing and Jen proves how important it is to talk about mental health.

I had some knowledge of the ban.do brand and even less of the creator. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir and background of the mental health advocacy of ban.do.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC.

Thus was a wonderful read. I love Jen Gotch's voice. She seems like someone I would love to be friends with and have her mentor me. She doesn't beat around the bush, she is open and authentic. It was great to hear her journey of creating and running ban.do. She includes a lot of her personal life and how it made her successful.

I recommend this book for anyone looking to start a business, struggles to see the bright side, or wants to meet an amazing human!!

I read this in one day. Her first few statements hit home with me and I was fully engaged. She starts out in the introduction with:

"Here's the thing about writing a memoir: the person you are when you start and the person you are when you finish are practically strangers. It's like those before and after pictures on makeover shows, except all the transformation happens on the inside."

And she really does let the walls down and open her life up to the reader. You are taken on her journey with her as she writes this and learn and grow with her. At one point she even mentions that she is listing her flaws and problems so that we might see them in ourselves earlier and avoid the same struggles hers caused her. It had a great balance of inspiration, discussing her struggles and business triumphs, with a butt load of self-reflection and mental health awareness while processing her own mental health journey, letting the reader know we are far from alone. I loved that her business advice was not solely for the entrepreneur. I could easily take her advice as a mid-level accountant about work environments, delegating, and that busyness does not equal success.

She really did present herself with heart and humor. I was not familiar with Ban.do or had I ever heard of Jen Gotch, but I felt connected to her by the end of this book. The Upside of Being Down was compared to two books I had previously read in 2019, #GirlBoss and Furiously Happy, and I can say this one stood out on a pedestal all its own above the rest.

"There has been so much learning involved, especially about myself, and it has required a depth of introspection and emotional excavation that I sure as hell didn't anticipate when I signed on for the job."

A chronicle of managing depression and anxiety, Jen Gotch shares her easily relatable story. With a best girlfriend type narrative, the Author successfully sells her brand from the site she co-founded, ban.do. Cool items for sale with a fun theme of optimism and success. Yet this isn't just about the products. Promoting self care, Gotch navigates through marriage and the creation and sustaining company. This as a good book on women in business as well as self help.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

This book is really great for people that have depression. I wish I didn't suffer from stupid depression. But I loved this one for the representation. It was nice to read.

I loved this book. I could relate to quite a bit of the mental illnesses Jen describes she has faced throughout her life.
I loved how raw and real Jen was; and she wasn’t embarrassed to share her experiences.

This self-help memoir was a quick funny read. I did not offer much new information that hasn’t been found in other mental health memoirs, but the author is extremely likable and honest. This book will appeal to fans of her brand and her popular Instagram account.

This was a great non-fiction memoir about the author's life and how she overcame her struggles. It was refreshing and inspirational as well. I resonated with how she overcame her struggles. I liked that we get to see how she grew and became a stronger individual. If you are looking for a great inspiring memoir to read, then pick this one up now!

Before I read The Upside of Being Down I was not familiar with Jen Gotch. To be quite honest, when I first saw this one, what stood out for me was the beautiful book cover and amazing title! Fortunately, this ended up being a great book too.

I am a big fan of memoirs and I am also a huge advocate for mental health awareness. I am always inspired by people who have worked through obstacles and challenges while also saying, “I still get it!”

Mental health issues are often lifelong but are not just barriers to “overcome”. Gotch’s path has not been easy but that is also why she is so inspiring. Her writing is conversational and has the perfect amount of humility and humor.

While excelling at normalizing what so many people go through, she also reminds us that you don’t have to “get over” your struggles to have a wonderful and fulfilling life. She shares relatable stories while also being realistic about the fact that sometimes it takes time to get the proper care you need and that it is okay to not have it all figured out, now, or ever…

While this is a “lighter” book on the mental health memoir spectrum, I appreciated the way she was able to share her wisdom while also having the perfect amount of self-awareness on the things that helped her along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy.

I mean it when I say words can’t describe how incredible this book is, but I’ll try.

To be completely transparent, I also suffer from a GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), so it’s practically a given I relate to Gotch and her experiences with mental illness. However, what I appreciate the most is her clear honesty, and how she approaches everything she discusses with humor, too. It’s clear she’s self-aware yet doesn’t take herself too seriously either.

I’m grateful women like Gotch exist. Not just to be the mental health advocates we need in the world, but to also set an example that you can have a mental illness (or several) and still be a successful businesswoman (a founder and c-level executive at that).

Whether or not you also have (had) anxiety, depression, and/or bipolar, you will certainly take something away from Gotch’s beautifully sewn memoir, and its sentiments may not leave you for days, but that’s the hope after all, right?

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and Jen Gotch for the opportunity to read this wonderful book. 5 stars for a book that will hopefully continue the discussion of mental illness but also address many other important issues.

Jen Gotch has spent her life struggling against anxiety and depression, getting bad diagnoses and prescriptions. This book walks you through her journey of fighting to get proper care and rebalance her life. But it's done in a way that is so relatable, honest and funny. Along with the mental illness talk, so much can be learned from this book - changing our viewpoint to being optimistic, stopping equating being "busy" with being successful, balancing work/life.

Although before reading this book I was unaware of Gotch's podcasts or company ban.do, this is a book that battles important topics in such a positive way. As one who has dealt with the mental illness and suicide of someone close, the fact that we can talk openly about these issues is life-changing. Highly recommended.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Gallery Books, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review


Summary:

Jen Gotch is the founder of the multi-million dollar and insanely adorable brand band.o but getting to this point in her fabulous life has not been an easy road. In her memoir, Jen describes her struggles and successes in managing her mental health and always looking on the bright side of life.


My thoughts:
Memoirs are hard for me sometimes, but this one was not. Right off the bat this book had me laughing. A lot of times when reading it felt like I was listening to an old friend tell me her story. The conversational tone made this such a relatable read. As someone who has struggled with mental health myself, it felt like she was putting into words a lot of the things I irrationally feel sometimes. There was even a chapter called "Crunchy Cereal" which is one of my main food groups. This girl gets it.


This book was short, funny and to the point. I think it's an awesome book club pick and I'm 100% sure I'm going to buy the hardcover version to add to my bookshelf so I can pick it up whenever I'm feeling low. I love that this book shows people that it's okay to be a mess, most people are, even the most successful ones. I also love a book that talks about mental health SO candidly and normalizes the conversation and takes away some of the stigma surrounding it. That is HUGE.


RUN and get this book when it comes out!!!

I had heard of Jen Gotch before I found this book (she was on Busy Philips Instagram Stories a few time) so I was initially drawn to this book for that reason. I'm also a big fan of memoirs and was excited to read about how Jen succeeded while also dealing with mental illness issues. (Side note--I also really loved the title and cover of this book!)

After graduating college, Jen Gotch had a mental breakdown and this book mainly follows her as she navigates life while also dealing with the repercussions of that breakdown and other areas mental illness.

Jen Gotch is very funny, and the writing feels like you're reading a book about your best friend. But the best part is that she is also really self aware and is willing to dig deep to figure out what was going on in her life. I've read plenty of memoirs where the authors are not willing to be 100% honest and it just doesn't work. No worries about that here. I walked away feeling enlightened and powerful and overall happy about the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! All options are my own.

Jen Gotch’s lifestyle brand, ban.do, is centered on the concept of pushing you to be your best while also acknowledging that life isn’t always pretty. So it’s no surprise that Gotch brings the same blend of optimism and candor to her funny new memoir, which chronicles her path from her childhood in Florida to becoming the creator and CCO of a multimillion-dollar business. From battling bipolar disorder and misdiagnosed ADD as a child to combating anxiety throughout her life, Gotch’s honest reflections on her mental health are both relatable and empowering, showcasing that it’s perfectly fine to not always feel perfectly fine.

As a person, I don't think I have the verbiage available to explain how wonderful this book truly is. Ms. Gotch is both down to earth and funny, and reading this book was at times emotional and inspiring. She has such a way with words, she draws you in, sets you down in a comfy chair, and hands you a nice hot mug of tea ( or buttered coffee..lol). The way she unravels her tale and touches on the issue of mental health is unapologetically relatable. Those of us who deal with these struggles moment after moment will find a companion, and an advocate is Ms. Gotch. I found myself, quite literally, highlighting sentences, chapter titles, and complete sections of the appendix for later review.

I highly recommend this as an uplifting read on the need for self-care for those with mental health issues, as well as a commanding read for any woman fighting the battle for betterment.

I read this as an ARC, thankfully provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to review The Upside of Being Down, because it's not often that an author celebrates the way that mental health challenges have made good things possible for them, even amidst the struggles. I was not disappointed. Jen Gotch is candid, upbeat, and relentlessly funny. I wish she'd been a little less glib in parts - her constant follow up one-liners detracted from the power of her story and could have been edited out. But the most shining part of this book is how straightforward she is about mental illness - what it looks like, feels like, how it goes sideways when you get the wrong medication. Her refusal to sugar coat these things made the world much easier for me to understand. This was a great read and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys getting to know about other people's experiences and how they cope and move forward in life. I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.